Buddhist and Muslim Realizations

Summary: This essay describes the ways in which Buddhists and Muslims try and attain enlightenment.

In both the religions of Islam and Buddhism, the main premise of the religion is realization of the self in order to gain enlightenment. They say that once you realize the self and vanquish the self, you can start to become enlightened. Although the goal of these religions is very similar, the way that the two religions go about it is somewhat different. The Muslims use a method called Jihad and the five pillars of Islam. The Buddists use the Noble-eight fold path and the four noble truths.

The literal meaning of the word Islam is surrender to God, or Allah. This meaning is what the entire religion of Islam is based upon. The Muslims attain this surrender to Allah though a long process that involves realizing the nature of the self and purifying the soul. The first guiding principles that Muslims follow are the five pillars of...